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I have a weird scenario going on, 2 domain controllers at 2 different sites that communicate over a BOVPN. At random the main server (named SERVER) will no longer be able to resolve DNS and even opening Active Directory will fail stating that it is unable to contact a DNS server.

Site1 = SERVER 
Site2 = FSSERVER 
Site3 = SERVERFS but this has been    decommissioned and removed from AD

The weird part about it is that I am able to remote in from an external source still and from this server, I am able to ping out via IP to site2 still.

The fix for this is to reboot the server but that is not ideal, it is a Small Business Server 2008 and here is the output from dcdiag:

Directory Server Diagnosis


Performing initial setup:

   Trying to find home server...

   Home Server = SERVER

   * Identified AD Forest. 
   Done gathering initial info.


Doing initial required tests


   Testing server: Downtown\SERVER

      Starting test: Connectivity

         ......................... SERVER passed test Connectivity



Doing primary tests


   Testing server: Downtown\SERVER

      Starting test: Advertising

         ......................... SERVER passed test Advertising

      Starting test: FrsEvent

         There are warning or error events within the last 24 hours after the

         SYSVOL has been shared.  Failing SYSVOL replication problems may cause

         Group Policy problems. 
         ......................... SERVER passed test FrsEvent

      Starting test: DFSREvent

         ......................... SERVER passed test DFSREvent

      Starting test: SysVolCheck

         ......................... SERVER passed test SysVolCheck

      Starting test: KccEvent

         ......................... SERVER passed test KccEvent

      Starting test: KnowsOfRoleHolders

         ......................... SERVER passed test KnowsOfRoleHolders

      Starting test: MachineAccount

         ......................... SERVER passed test MachineAccount

      Starting test: NCSecDesc

         ......................... SERVER passed test NCSecDesc

      Starting test: NetLogons

         ......................... SERVER passed test NetLogons

      Starting test: ObjectsReplicated

         ......................... SERVER passed test ObjectsReplicated

      Starting test: Replications

         [Replications Check,SERVER] A recent replication attempt failed:

            From FSSERVER to SERVER

            Naming Context: DC=sac,DC=local

            The replication generated an error (8524):

            The DSA operation is unable to proceed because of a DNS lookup failure.



            The failure occurred at 2015-03-18 08:49:00.

            The last success occurred at 2015-03-18 05:48:56.

            1 failures have occurred since the last success.

            The guid-based DNS name

            ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114._msdcs.sac.local

            is not registered on one or more DNS servers.

         ......................... SERVER failed test Replications

      Starting test: RidManager

         ......................... SERVER passed test RidManager

      Starting test: Services

         ......................... SERVER passed test Services

      Starting test: SystemLog

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC00A0032

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:27:34

            Event String:

            The RDP protocol component X.224 detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:28:21

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:33:26

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:38:31

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:43:36

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:48:41

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC0001B70

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:50:27

            Event String:

            The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service terminated with service-specific error 0 (0x0).

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC000271A

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:53:30

            Event String:

            The server {C1F1173B-21B1-11D2-849B-006008198DC0} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:53:46

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:54:52

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={92F3F35E-4AD5-4F7B-A3E6-A7CE17DBB0C7},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000450

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:54:52

            Event String:

            Windows was unable to read the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter information associated with the Group Policy object CN={0C900DC5-7BD9-48C0-B340-F3373D17ED05},CN=POLICIES,CN=SYSTEM,DC=SAC,DC=LOCAL.This may be caused by a deleted WMI Filter defined in the domain that is still in use by Group Policy objects. Group Policy settings for this Group Policy object will not be enforced. Other Group Policy objects may still apply. Windows will attempt to retrieve this information at the next policy cycle. This speciffic problem may be resolved by identifying all GPOs that reference the WMI filter and removing the references. Contact an administrator if this event recurs for several hours.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x800007DC

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:56:07

            Event String:

            While transmitting or receiving data, the server encountered a network error. Occassional errors are expected, but large amounts of these indicate a possible error in your network configuration.  The error status code is contained within the returned data (formatted as Words) and may point you towards the problem.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x800007DC

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:56:07

            Event String:

            While transmitting or receiving data, the server encountered a network error. Occassional errors are expected, but large amounts of these indicate a possible error in your network configuration.  The error status code is contained within the returned data (formatted as Words) and may point you towards the problem.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x800007DC

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   10:56:07

            Event String:

            While transmitting or receiving data, the server encountered a network error. Occassional errors are expected, but large amounts of these indicate a possible error in your network configuration.  The error status code is contained within the returned data (formatted as Words) and may point you towards the problem.

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC0040031

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:01:13

            Event String:

            Configuring the Page file for crash dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that is large enough to contain all physical memory.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x80050004

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:01:19

            Event String:

            HP NC326i PCIe Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter #2: The network link is down.  Check to make sure the network cable is properly connected.

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC0040031

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:01:29

            Event String:

            Configuring the Page file for crash dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that is large enough to contain all physical memory.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x800009CF

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:19

            Event String:

            The server service was unable to recreate the share ORM because the directory d:\Groups\New Folder no longer exists.  Please run "net share ORM /delete" to delete the share, or recreate the directory d:\Groups\New Folder.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000420

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:34

            Event String:

            The DHCP service has detected that it is running on a DC and has no credentials configured for use with Dynamic DNS registrations initiated by the DHCP service.   This is not a recommended security configuration.  Credentials for Dynamic DNS registrations may be configured using the command line "netsh dhcp server set dnscredentials" or via the DHCP Administrative tool.

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00000001

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:34

            Event String:

            An uncorrected hardware error occurred. A record describing the condition is contained in the data section of this event.

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00001696

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:38

            Event String:

            Dynamic registration or deregistration of one or more DNS records failed with the following error: 


         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x00002724

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:42

            Event String:

            This computer has at least one dynamically assigned IPv6 address.For reliable DHCPv6 server operation, you should use only static IPv6 addresses.

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC0001B70

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:02:59

            Event String:

            The HP Insight Event Notifier service terminated with service-specific error 1 (0x1).

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC435050B

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:03:21

            Event String:

            NIC Agent: Connectivity has been lost for the NIC in slot 0, port 2. [SNMP TRAP: 18012 in CPQNIC.MIB]

         An Warning Event occurred.  EventID: 0x84350463

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:03:23

            Event String:

            System Information Agent: Health: Post Errors were detected.  One or more Power-On-Self-Test errors were detected during server startup. Details of the POST error messages can be found in  Integrated Management Log. 


         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC0001B7A

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:04:20

            Event String:

            The Windows Internal Database (MICROSOFT##SSEE) service terminated unexpectedly.  It has done this 1 time(s).

         An Error Event occurred.  EventID: 0xC00A0032

            Time Generated: 03/18/2015   11:06:11

            Event String:

            The RDP protocol component X.224 detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client.

         ......................... SERVER failed test SystemLog

      Starting test: VerifyReferences

         ......................... SERVER passed test VerifyReferences



   Running partition tests on : ForestDnsZones

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom

         ......................... ForestDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom

      Starting test: CrossRefValidation

         ......................... ForestDnsZones passed test

         CrossRefValidation


   Running partition tests on : DomainDnsZones

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom

         ......................... DomainDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom

      Starting test: CrossRefValidation

         ......................... DomainDnsZones passed test

         CrossRefValidation


   Running partition tests on : Schema

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom

         ......................... Schema passed test CheckSDRefDom

      Starting test: CrossRefValidation

         ......................... Schema passed test CrossRefValidation


   Running partition tests on : Configuration

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom

         ......................... Configuration passed test CheckSDRefDom

      Starting test: CrossRefValidation

         ......................... Configuration passed test CrossRefValidation


   Running partition tests on : sac

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom

         ......................... sac passed test CheckSDRefDom

      Starting test: CrossRefValidation

         ......................... sac passed test CrossRefValidation


   Running enterprise tests on : sac.local

      Starting test: LocatorCheck

         ......................... sac.local passed test LocatorCheck

      Starting test: Intersite

         ......................... sac.local passed test Intersite

here is output from repadmin /showrepl

C:\Users\Administrator>repadmin /showrepl

Repadmin: running command /showrepl against full DC localhost
Downtown\SERVER
DSA Options: IS_GC
Site Options: (none)
DSA object GUID: 8c15b912-0f0c-4ee7-9cd0-58176ba3d5ae
DSA invocationID: 8c15b912-0f0c-4ee7-9cd0-58176ba3d5ae

==== INBOUND NEIGHBORS ======================================

DC=sac,DC=local
    Northgate\FSSERVER via RPC
        DSA object GUID: ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114
        Last attempt @ 2015-03-18 08:49:00 failed, result 8524 (0x214c):
            The DSA operation is unable to proceed because of a DNS lookup failure.
        1 consecutive failure(s).
        Last success @ 2015-03-18 05:48:56.

CN=Configuration,DC=sac,DC=local
    Northgate\FSSERVER via RPC
        DSA object GUID: ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114
        Last attempt @ 2015-03-18 11:02:25 was successful.

CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=sac,DC=local
    Northgate\FSSERVER via RPC
        DSA object GUID: ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114
        Last attempt @ 2015-03-18 11:02:25 was successful.

DC=DomainDnsZones,DC=sac,DC=local
    Northgate\FSSERVER via RPC
        DSA object GUID: ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114
        Last attempt @ 2015-03-18 11:02:26 was successful.

DC=ForestDnsZones,DC=sac,DC=local
    Northgate\FSSERVER via RPC
        DSA object GUID: ea2273d9-dd9a-446d-9bc5-6e9507dbb114
        Last attempt @ 2015-03-18 11:02:26 was successful.

Source: Northgate\FSSERVER
******* 1 CONSECUTIVE FAILURES since 2015-03-18 05:48:56
Last error: 8524 (0x214c):
            The DSA operation is unable to proceed because of a DNS lookup failure.

Per the logs, it seems like replication might be the issue but not sure why. At this point the server has been restarted and here is the stats for repadmin:

C:\Users\Administrator>REPADMIN /REPLSUM
Replication Summary Start Time: 2015-03-18 11:41:37

Beginning data collection for replication summary, this may take awhile:
  .....


Source DSA          largest delta    fails/total %%   error
 FSSERVER              05h:52m:41s    1 /   5   20  (8524) The DSA operation is unable to proceed be
cause of a DNS lookup failure.
 SERVER                    03m:21s    0 /   5    0


Destination DSA     largest delta    fails/total %%   error
 FSSERVER                  03m:21s    0 /   5    0
 SERVER                05h:52m:41s    1 /   5   20  (8524) The DSA operation is unable to proceed be
cause of a DNS lookup failure.

UPDATE NIC settings

Site1

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : HP NC326i PCIe Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-24-81-FF-D0-9A
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::34da:c891:d8b0:443b%10(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.23.5(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.23.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.13.6
                                       192.168.23.5
   Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.23.5
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Site2 (updated DNS servers to point to remote site as primary and local IP as secondary)

    Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : HP Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331i Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 9C-8E-99-50-10-82
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::c599:fef1:ce10:24de%11(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.13.6(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.13.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 245141145
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-18-88-C5-1D-9C-8E-99-50-10-82

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.23.5
                                       192.168.13.6
   Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.23.5
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

UPDATE BPA results Site1

DNS Client not configured - The DNS client is not configured to point only to the internal IP address of the server. For information about how to fix network settings, see "Managing Your Windows Small Business Server 2008 network" at the Microsoft Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115881).

Internal network adapter is not configured to register IP address in DNS - Verify that the internal network adapter is configured to register in DNS. For information about how to fix network settings, see "Managing Your Windows Small Business Server 2008 Network" at the Microsoft Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115881).

Site2

DC BPA Title: All OUs in this domain should be protected from accidental deletion

Severity:
Warning

Date:
3/18/2015 12:25:41 PM

Category:
Configuration

Issue:
Some organizational units (OUs) in this domain are not protected from accidental deletion.

Impact:
If all OUs in your Active Directory domains are not protected from accidental deletion, your Active Directory environment can experience disruptions that might be caused by accidental bulk deletion of objects.

Resolution:
Make sure that all OUs in this domain are protected from accidental deletion.

More information about this best practice and detailed resolution procedures: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=142204

DNS BPA

Title:
DNS: The DNS server should have scavenging enabled.

Severity:
Warning

Date:
3/18/2015 12:28:54 PM

Category:
Configuration

Issue:
Scavenging is disabled on the DNS server.

Impact:
The size of the DNS database can become excessive if scavenging is not enabled.

Resolution:
Enable scavenging on the DNS Server.

More information about this best practice and detailed resolution procedures: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=188775

****UPDATE QUESTION**

Is it normal for the delta to keep increasing? Could this be an indicator to my issue?

Source DSA          largest delta    fails/total %%   error
 FSSERVER                  51m:34s    0 /   5    0
 SERVER                       :12s    0 /   5    0


Destination DSA     largest delta    fails/total %%   error
 FSSERVER                     :12s    0 /   5    0
 SERVER                    51m:34s    0 /   5    0

UPDATE FSMO roles

C:\Users\Administrator>netdom query /domain:sac.local fsmo
Schema master               SERVER.sac.local
Domain naming master        SERVER.sac.local
PDC                         FSSERVER.sac.local
RID pool manager            FSSERVER.sac.local
Infrastructure master       FSSERVER.sac.local
The command completed successfully.

UPDATE 03/20/15

Issue is back

C:\Users\Administrator>repadmin /showrepl server
Repadmin can't connect to a "home server", because of the following error.  Try specifying a differe
nt
home server with /homeserver:[dns name]
Error: An LDAP lookup operation failed with the following error:

    LDAP Error 90(0x5a): (null)
    Server Win32 Error 0(0x0): (null)
    Extended Information: (null)

C:\Users\Administrator>dcdiag /test:replications

Directory Server Diagnosis

Performing initial setup:
   Trying to find home server...
   Home Server = SERVER
   [SERVER] LDAP connection failed with error 0,
   The operation completed successfully..
   [SERVER] Unrecoverable LDAP Error 89:

UPDATE WORK AROUND

During this time, I restarted the netlogon service and it failed to bring Microsoft Exchange Information store and Transport service back to a started state. After manually starting these services, replication is back to working state. WTF?! No crazy event logs pop up that I can correlate this to

A dcdiag results can be found here: http://pastebin.com/gz0hV4MT

Here are results for netdiag: http://pastebin.com/njNFhY6q I do see fatal errors regarding DNS, C:\Windows\System32\config\netlogon.dns does exist and permissions match that of the other DC.

CORRECTION TO NETDIAG OUTPUT

I was using the 32bit version of netdiag and its known to have issues reading dns file, here are results from 64bit version: http://pastebin.com/z2ZjepqR No failures are showing

nGX
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  • The replication issues appear to be a symptom of the problem, not the cause of the problem. The cause of the problem appears to be with DNS. How are the DNS client settings on the DC's configured? – joeqwerty Mar 18 '15 at 18:46
  • See updated comments with NIC settings for each site – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 18:59
  • At Site 2 you should reverse the primary and secondary DNS servers. Each DC should point to it's partner for primary and itself for secondary. Additionally, add 127.0.0.1 to each server as tertiary. Also, run both the AD DS and DNS bets practice analyzers on both DC's and post the results here. IIRC, the BPA's may not pick up your changes immediately so a reboot may be in order to `refresh` the BPA's. – joeqwerty Mar 18 '15 at 19:10
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    Unless you have legacy clients (pre-Windows 2000) or legacy applications that require WINS, I would get rid of WINS altogether. – joeqwerty Mar 18 '15 at 19:12
  • I have XP machines on the network, I have enabled wins on both sites and added each other as partners and kicked off replication – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 19:23
  • Windows XP doesn't require or need WINS. – joeqwerty Mar 18 '15 at 19:23
  • The Site 2 BPA results are more informational than anything else and aren't relevant to your problem. The BPA results from Site 1 are a little concerning. Do you have any external DNS servers configured in the DNS client settings on any of your DC's? – joeqwerty Mar 20 '15 at 20:30
  • No external DNS configured on both DCs. They both point to each other as primary and then themselves (using internal 192.168.X.X IP) as secondary. – nGX Mar 20 '15 at 20:32
  • What about the second DNS result in the Site 1 BPA? Is the NIC configured to register in DNS? Have you verified that the A records for the DC's are registered in DNS with the correct ip addresses? – joeqwerty Mar 20 '15 at 20:35
  • Yes, that check box has been checked but server never restarted to refresh teh BPA results. DNS looks good, is there a quick way to confirm? – nGX Mar 20 '15 at 20:45
  • Yes, check that an A record for each DC is registered in DNS. – joeqwerty Mar 20 '15 at 20:49
  • Yes, each DC has a A record. Please see my netdiag output – nGX Mar 20 '15 at 21:03
  • Please bear in mind that SBS can sometimes be a unique beast where the typical rules we are mentioning here don't always apply equally. I haven't looked in detail to your issue, but keep that in mind when you are looking online for a fix for this. – TheCleaner Mar 20 '15 at 21:15
  • Reason for that failure was due to me using 32bit netdiag.exe on a 64bit OS. I have added results from 64bit version of netdiag http://pastebin.com/z2ZjepqR – nGX Mar 20 '15 at 21:19

1 Answers1

1

Each server needs to have both AD DNS servers listed in the DNS client settings, but the primary should be a remote AD DNS server IP and the secondary should be the local IP, but not localhost. Also, make sure in your DNS server properties that it is binding to all IP addresses. DO this for both AD servers.

More Info: https://abhijitw.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/best-practices-for-dns-client-settings-on-domain-controller/

Edit: So I looked at your network config, and it looks good except of the DNS servers. Change the order of the DNS servers per the above instructions and see if that helps.

John Homer
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  • They only have single NIC enabled with a single IP. Please see my updated comments in original post with ip details – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 19:03
  • The second server looks screwy. You've got the IP6 localhost in there first, and then the local IP, and then the remote IP. Need to fix these. The first server is actually spot-on. – John Homer Mar 18 '15 at 19:06
  • I just noticed your WINS config isn't optimal either. Are you running WINS on both servers? – John Homer Mar 18 '15 at 19:09
  • Yes, this is now corrected, see output in post. Weird thing is, this is how its been set for over a year now.. – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 19:09
  • WINS role has not been installed on any of these servers....I'll get that installed just to have – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 19:10
  • According to your config, WINS is enabled on the client, so yes you need to resolve that. Either disable WINS client or install WINS role and configure client. – John Homer Mar 18 '15 at 19:13
  • We do have legacy machines on the network so I opted to enable WINs on both sites and have added each other as partners. – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 19:22
  • Okay. It sounds like you've got the worst of it sorted out. Now you just need to wait and see if any of it helps. Please note as Joe pointed out, if all you have is XP (no 2000 or NT4 hosts), then it's probably best to do away with WINS. – John Homer Mar 18 '15 at 19:54
  • Gotcha! Yeah, I'm playing the waiting game now. Since I just enabled WINS on both servers, I'll leave it enabled for the time being so I can tell that my main problem has been resolved – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 20:01
  • No worries. It shouldn't break anything necessarily, just additional overhead you don't need. btw...It would be helpful if you selected a correct answer. It doesn't have to be mine...lol. – John Homer Mar 18 '15 at 20:24
  • Haha, I will select best answer after I wait a few days just incase i might need more help. Thank you for your support – nGX Mar 18 '15 at 20:36
  • Issue is back, see original post for details – nGX Mar 20 '15 at 20:21
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    I honestly don't see any reason why you should be running WINS at all in a modern environment. Even with the clients set to NetBIOS over TCP enabled and Node Type Hybrid it isn't needed...the client will use DNS just fine. – TheCleaner Mar 20 '15 at 21:12